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James Kenneth Stephen
James Kenneth Stephen (25 February 1859 - 3 February 1892) was an English poet. Life Youth Stephen was the second son of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, barrister-at-law, and his wife Mary Richenda Cunningham; he was first cousin to Virginia Woolf (née Stephen). James Kenneth Stephen was known as 'Jem' among his family and close friends. He was a King's Scholar at Eton, where he proved to be a highly competent player of the Eton Wall Game; and then went up to King's College, Cambridge, again as a King's Scholar. In the Michaelmas term of 1880, he was President of the Cambridge Union Society. Career In 1883 he became tutor to Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales]] (the future Edward VII). .Deborah McDonald, The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper McFarland: 2007, biography of JK Stephen He was made a Fellow of King's College in 1885. Stephen was a renowned intellectual; and it was said that he spoke in a pedantic, but highly articulate and entertaining, manner. In 1891 he founded the Walpole Society, a debating society at King's College, which is still in existence.Clubs and Societies: The Walpole Society, King's College, Cambridge. Web, Nov. 23, 2013. Stephen became a published poet, his work being identified by the initials J.K.S. He wrote collections of poems in Lapsus Calami and Quo Musa Tendis, both published in 1891. J.K. Stephen was at Cambridge at the same time as the distinguished antiquarian and writer of ghost-stories, Montagu R. James, and mentions him at the end of a curious Latin celebration of then-current worthies of 'Coll. Regale' (King's College): Vivat J.K. Stephanus, Humilis poeta! Vivat Monty Jamesius, Vivant A, B, C, D, E Et totus Alphabeta! Stephen wrote a satirical pastiche of Thomas Gray's "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College" pillorying Eton for being Tory. A poem which gave him a reputation as a misogynist is "In the Backs" (The Backs is a riverside area of Cambridge), where he describes a woman he does not know but to whom he takes a violent dislike: I do not want to see that girl again: I did not like her: and I should not mind If she were done away with, killed, or ploughed. She did not seem to serve a useful end : And certainly she was not beautiful. However, many of his other poems show that he may not have been as misogynistic as previously believed.McDonald, The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper Stephen was a member of the Cambridge "Apostles". Death Stephen suffered a serious head injury in an accident in the winter of 1886-1887 which may have brought on the bi-polar disorder from which he suffered. His cousin Virginia Woolf suffered from the same disorder in later years.McDonald, The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper Stephen was eventually committed to St. Andrew's Hospital, a mental asylum in Northampton.Stephen, James Kenneth, Representative Poetry Online, University of Toronto, UToronto.ca In January 1892 the former Royal tutor heard that his erstwhile pupil, the 28-year-old Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence had died of pneumonia at Sandringham, after contracting influenza. On hearing the news, Stephen refused to eat, and died 20 days later, aged 32. His cause of death, according to the death certificate, was mania.McDonald, The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper Writing Critical introduction by Charles L. Greaves The resemblances between Calverley and “J.K.S.” (James Kenneth Stephen) are ... marked.... Stephen was also a brilliant public school boy who had a distinguished academic career at Cambridge. He was, moreover, an avowed disciple and devoted admirer of Calverley, as may be gathered from the delightful stanzas "To C.S.C." But though related by education and environment, the two men differed widely in temperament. Calverley was more freakish and irresponsible: he had greater charm, elasticity, and geniality. He was never angry, and Stephen often was, though to excellent purpose, in his diatribes against those who desecrated the river, vulgar Cockney or oversea tourists, and pretentious politicians. Stephen was less of the amused onlooker, more of the castigator. But he, too, trod the beaten way: he was neither a mystic nor a metaphysician, but a man of robust intelligence who hated cant, pretence, and sentimentality, but was capable of generous emotion and even tenderness. He called himself “a man of prose,” but there are lines in the stanzas "To A.H.C.", when he compares the futility of abstract speculation with the things that really count, which only a poet could have written; while as a parodist he fell little short of his master.from Charles L. Graves, "Critical Introduction: James Kenneth Stephen (1859–1892)," The English Poets: Selections with critical introductions (edited by Thomas Humphry Ward). New York & London: Macmillan, 1880-1918. Web, Mar. 29, 2016. Recognition Stephen was noted for his prodigious size and physical strength. At Eton, he was a legendary player of the Wall Game. He played for College on St Andrew's Day four times: in 1874, 1875, 1876 and 1877. In the last two years he was Keeper (or captain) of the College Wall. College beat the Oppidans by 4 shies to nil in his first year as Keeper, and by 10 shies to nil the next year. Ever after, the King's Scholars have honoured J.K. Stephen's memory with a toast at the Christmas Soc Supper - "in piam memoriam, J.K.S." (In pious memory of J.K.S.). Stephen was recalled in less pious memory in a play by former Eton housemaster and Old Etonian, Angus Graham-Campbell; entitled Sympathy for the Devil, it premiered at the Eton Drama festival in 1993. This was based on the notion that Stephen could have been one of the Jack the Ripper suspects; this theory has been dismissed, because he would have been unable to return to Cambridge in time for lectures the following morning.McDonald, The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper Stephen's poem The Old School List from Quo Musa Tendis is included in the front pages of H.E.C. Stapleton's Eton School Lists 1853-1892, and the author refers to him in the preface as 'an Etonian of great promise, who died only too early for his numerous friends'. During his time at Eton, Stephen was a friend of Harry Goodhart (1858–1895), who became an England international footballer and later a Professor at the University of Edinburgh. Goodhart is referred to as "one of them's wed" in the last verse of The Old School List: There were two good fellows I used to know. --How distant it all appears! We played together in football weather, And messed together for years: Now one of them's wed, and the other's dead So long that he's hardly missed Save by us, who messed with him years ago: But we're all in the old School List. Publications Poetry *''Lapsus Calami. Cambridge, UK: Macmillan & Bowes, 1891. *Quo Musa Tendis. Cambridge, UK: Macmillan & Bowes, 1891. *Lapsus Calami, and other verses'' (introduction by Sir Herbert Stephen). Cambridge, UK: Macmillan & Bowes, 1896. *''J.K. Stephen''. London: Ernest Benn (Augustan Books of Modern Poetry), 1926. Non-fiction *''The Living Languages: A defence of the compulsory study of Greek at Cambridge. Cambridge, UK: Macmillan & Bowes, 1891. *International Law and International Relations : an attempt to ascertain the best method of discussing the topics of international law. London: Macmillan, 1884. Edited *''The Reflector, Vol. I, nos. 1-17 (January - April 1888). London: 1888. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results: James Kenneth Stephen, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Nov. 23, 2013. See also *List of British poets References *Miles, A.H. Stephen. In miles 9(10) *JKS Acad 19 Aug 1905 *Benson, A.C., Leaves of the tree: studies in biography, 1911 *Evans, B.I. English poetry in the later 19th century. 1933-1966 *"Master of Light Verse - In memory of JKS"; Times Literary Supplement. ''31 Jan 1941. Notes External links ;Poems *Stephen in ''The English Poets: An anthology: "A Parodist's Apology," "Parker’s Piece, May 19, 1891" *Stephen in A Victorian Anthology, 1837-1895: "Lapsus Calami," "A Thought," "A Sonnet" * Selected Poetry of James Kenneth Stephen (1859-1892) (14 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. *James Kenneth Stephen at PoemHunter (18 poems) *James Kenneth Stephen at Poetry Nook (28 poems) *James Kenneth Stephen at Wikisource (63 poems) ;About *Biography by Herbert Stephen (at Casebook.org, "Jack the Ripper" suspects website) *"Irreparably Damaged: The madness of James Kenneth Stephen at A Sketch of the Past Category:1859 births Category:1892 deaths Category:English-language poets Category:Old Etonians Category:Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Category:Jack the Ripper Category:19th-century poets Category:English poets Category:Poets Category:Poets hospitalized for mental illness Category:Poets who died before 35 Category:Poets who committed suicide